Formation of Tridymite and Evidence for a Hydrothermal History at Gale Crater, Mars

Abstract

Using data from Curiosity’s instrument suite, we show that the tridymite‐bearing rocks exhibit similar chemical patterns with silicon‐rich alteration zones which crosscut the layered sediments. We infer that the tridymite formed in‐place through hydrothermal processes and show additional chemical and mineralogical results from Gale crater consistent with hydrothermal activity occurring after sediment deposition and lithification.A. S. Yen, R. V. Morris, D. W. Ming, S. P. Schwenzer, B. Sutter, D. T. Vaniman, A. H. Treiman, R. Gellert, C. N. Achilles, J. A. Berger, D. F. Blake, N. I. Boyd, T. F. Bristow, S. Chipera, B. C. Clark, P. I. Craig, R. T. Downs, H. B. Franz, T. Gabriel, A. C. McAdam, S. M. Morrison, C. D. O’Connell‐Cooper, E. B. Rampe, M. E. Schmidt, L. M. Thompson, S. J. VanBommel